Lecture 12Last Lecture Note Outline:I. “War of the Worlds” (1938)II. The Economic and Cultural StoryIII. Why was radio so popular?IV. Return to the economic storyV. NBC’s two philosophiesVI. Which philosophy wins?Current Lecture Note Outline:I. Return to radioII. Back to “War of the Worlds”: Why the panic?III. Struggle over regulatingIV. Broadcast TelevisionBroadcast ProgrammingI. Return to radio:- 1920s: radio time not dominated by ads because advertisers weren’t sure it wasworth it to spend the money on the advertisement time- Through 1930s, less than 50% of programming was sponsored, businesses werenot particularly convinced that radio advertising was the smartest route- Unsponsored material called “sustaining programming”- Some example of sustaining programming is house orchestras, news, anddocumentaries (not dramas, comedies, variety shows, or art)- Sponsored programs fully produced and controlled by advertisers. Theadvertisers fully paid for the production and therefore held control- Quote 7 and 8:o The staff from the sponsor and the staff of the advertisers are runningand controlling, not NBCII. Back to “War of the Worlds”: Why the panic?- Mobile privatization +- Competition for listeners +- Program conventions (how programs sounded): house orchestra and news cut-ins+- Anxiety about the social influence of radio and who would control it- National anxiety post WW1 and start of WW2III. Struggle over regulating- Who will distribute the airwaves?- Who gets to use the limited range of frequencies?- 1927: Congress establishes Federal Radio Commission (FRC) to regulate andoversee the distribution of the airwaves- Government distributes licenses Comm 121 1st Edition- Government favors commercial operators when granting licenses- License wars into the present (still licensing wars with a big debate between thepublic and private uses of the airwaves)- Micro broadcasters: pirate broadcasters without licensees sending low powersignals/waves- “Pirate Radio” (Corteau and Hoynes) - low power, does not interfere with high-power commercial frequencies (as claimed)- 2013: low power licenses awarded by FCC- VFR: Valley Free Radio, WXOLP, NorthamptonIV. Broadcast Television:- Industry players beat the FCC in deciding what technical frequencies to use (UHFvs. VHF: UHF selected)o VHF: Very High Frequencyo UHF: Ultra High Frequency- RCA, maker of UHF TV sets, retains economic control over equipment sales- Late 1940s and early 50s, TV adopted the business structure and programformats of radio- E.g. “Amos and Andy” (from Color Adjustment, documentary aboutAfrican Americans on television, on Moodle)- “Race relations and television formed a crucial link”: why?- 1951: 12% of homes have television Comm 121 1st